Once Upon A Time
by ribbonsandroses
Summary: Elizabeth is the daughter of a dangerous mobster, Jason's a big time business man. What happens when their world's collide? Can they have a happily ever after?
1. Chapter 1

_Once upon a time there was a beautiful little girl. She loved to play in her garden, and she grew millions of flowers behind her house. It was in her garden that she would dream of being carried off by a handsome prince. One day the girl was old enough, and her parents married her to a very powerful man. But unlike her dream prince, the man was very evil and the girl who was now a woman was sad and became acquainted with sorrow._

Elizabeth put her gun away, tucking it into the back of her jeans. Her heeled boots clicked against the ice cold pavement towards Garret who was holding the crumpled body of a man.

"Take him to Loretta, she'll know what to do with him." She said, pitifully examining the body in front of her.

"But he tried to kill you" Garret replied fiercely. He had long disagreed with Elizabeth's "hit man rehabilitation" as she put it. Every time they stopped a man from killing her, usually by knocking him out, or other various ways to subdue men trained to kill; they would have a woman Elizabeth paid to administer memory loss drugs. The drug would wipe out enough memory that the hit man, well in effect, wouldn't know what hit them. Then the woman, Loretta, would tell the man when he woke up, that she had found him at a bar and had offered him a place to sleep. The men always bought it, and would high tale it back to wherever they came from. Their bosses usually got the message and didn't resend their subpar men back.

"Well he was just following orders" Elizabeth said, pulling back her brown curls and tying them up in a lazy ponytail. Garret sighed, watching his young ward. She had seen so much as the daughter of one of the most notorious crime lords on this side of the ocean. Death. Cruelty. Revenge. Loss. Betrayal. She was only nineteen, but her eyes betrayed the depth of age that experience had endowed her with. Little Lizzie, Anthony Zacharras only daughter, had grown from a small vivacious child to a leather clad emotionally detached beauty. She had known men who wanted to love her, men who wanted to kill her, men who wanted to use her, and men who simply saw her as her father did- a pawn in the dangerous power plays of mob life.

"Well I'll have John take him. I'm driving you home." Garret handed over the limp body to his fellow body guard. Elizabeth nodded and followed Garret to the car.

As long as she could remember, Garret had always been there. He was there when her mom died, and she watched her father stand by emotionless as they lowered her small coffin into the ground. He was there to take down the fist man to make an attempt at her life. He was there when she was swept away to her first safe house, and the dozens that followed after. He was there to protect her from her father's drunken rages. He was there to wipe her tears away after her first heart break. And he was there to listen to her girl rock music afterwards. As far as she knew Garret's didn't have any life except one built around her.

She slid into the back seat. He never let her ride shotgun. She wrapped a pale blue blanket that she kept in the backseat around her shoulders.

"Why do we always have to go to the water Elizabeth?" Garret asked exhaustively, fiddling with the heat and adjusting his seat belt.

"Because" Elizabeth yawned. "I hardly ever get to see the water, we move around so much and it's always so far away from anything." A moment lapsed between as Garret started the engine.

"Wasn't the water beautiful on the pier tonight Garret?" she said sleepily.

"Oh yeah" Garret answered, "Up until that guy tried to kill you!"

"I wasn't afraid" she said softly, feeling sleep creep up on her. "I had you." Silence.

"Garret?"

"Yes dear" his Irish brogue peeked out from his New York accent when he talked, even more so when he called Elizabeth "dear" or "darling" or when he got really mad.

"Where are we goin' this time?"

"Now you know I can't tell you Liz"

"Just this once?" She yawned, her eyes closing. "Please?"

"Oh just a little town called Port Charles."


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks so much for the comments! They keep me motivated. So to answer you guys- Jason's a business guy, and he'll show up in maybe the next couple of chapters. I'll go into more detail about what he does, it's about as legal as what Jax does on the show. Because this story is in progress, feel free to let me know what characters you would, or would not like to see. And yes they are going to meet- I've got that all planned out, it's gonna be pretty interesting if I do say so myself. Please please please if you read, comment! Thanks!

_To make her happy, the evil man gave the woman a garden. It was her only joy. In the spring and summer she would spend hours kneeling in the dirt amongst her flowers. She grew roses and lilies, irises, and lavender. In the winter, she would stare out the window into her frozen garden waiting for the sun to shine and to bring her frozen world to life._

Elizabeth stretched her arms, and examined the room around her. She had fallen asleep in the car and Garret had carried her to her new home. This is where she would stay for now. She had been moved around so many times, she hardly bothered to get acquainted with the places she stayed. She knew that her constant relocation was to maintain her safety but that keep her from feeling like she was in a permanent state of jet lag. When she was little Garret, under orders of her father, had kept her strictly in the homes that they stayed in. She never left the area where the home was. Now that she was older, she was allowed to go to the local towns or malls as long as she had guards with her. Despite the hyper security she knew that her father could not care less about her. His love for her was strictly about ownership. He told her himself. That one day he would marry her off to any man that offered him the most money and power in return. It was that simple. He even admitted that he did not love her mother, and that it was unfortunate that she had had a daughter instead of a son. When he said this Elizabeth knew that his words were jaded with hidden meaning. How "unfortunate" he had said, as if it was a conscious decision that her mom had made, one that she would end up paying for.

After showering, Elizabeth opened her suitcase. It was small and blue; she took it where ever they went. After dressing in sweats and a t-shirt she went to the kitchen where Garret was drinking coffee and reading a paper.

"Port Charles Post?" she asked reading the paper's header.

"Welcome to the land of the living sleeping beauty" he said, not looking up.

"Ha. Ha. Thank you very much Garret. I'm going to go for a run, if you don't mind."

"And if I did?"

"Then that would be too bad for you."

"I could always tie you to a chair."

"But then I'd be forced to talk your ear off until you went crazy and untied me."

"You'll talk my ear off anyways."

"Ah yes, but there is a big difference between me being a happy talker and an angry talker."

Garret rolled his eyes, and finished his coffee. He followed the petite brunette, grabbing his car keys. He would drive the car alongside her as she ran, that way he could keep an eye on her without bothering to overexert himself. Once Liz had accused him of being lazy, and he had responded saying that he was saving his energy for to save her from the next attempt on her life.

Elizabeth ran, she loved how the air whizzed pass her face and through her hair. She loved how the muscles in her legs strained, and burned as she pushed them harder and farther. If she ran fast enough she felt like she was flying. If she ran fast enough, she didn't have to think. If she ran fast enough, she could out run the memories. The memories of everything. Her mother. Her father. Her. She could leave them behind.

Two hours later Elizabeth, Garret, and Johnny were sitting around the kitchen table in their new home. Johnny, Garrets young nephew, had brought enough food to feed an army.

"There is nothing" said Garret in between bites of his sandwich, "like a good Italian hero."

"Exactly!" said Liz, taking a large bite of her cold-cut stuffed hero.

"So what'd you guys do this morning while I was out?" Johnny asked, adding more mustard to his creation.

"Run" said Elizabeth with her mouth full.

"I take it this was a one person activity" he laughed.

"Hey I'm the muscle, what do I need to run for?" Garret replied, taking a long sip of his beer.

"Sure" Johnny said, drinking from his own bottle.

"So what are we going to do today boys?" Elizabeth asked, putting her feet up on an empty chair.

"We could stay here and watch a game" Johnny said in a half pleading tone. He knew better, or at least he should've.

"Or…" Liz said mischievously, "We could go shopping!"

Personally, Garret thought that Liz just shopped to drive them crazy. She would go from store to store flipping through racks of clothing. John and Garret hated it. They had no idea why women insisted on visiting every clothes store they saw, and then they felt the need to plant themselves in front of every clothes rack in the store and go through it piece by piece. The only store they all liked was the electronics store, where all three would pour through the latest gadgets, and John and him would drop hints about what they wanted for various holidays and birthdays. And Liz would always get it for them.

"Alright I'll get the car" Garret said, conceding.

Johnny shot him a look as if to say "What no fight?" or maybe it was more a look of "please save me!" Garret knew Elizabeth was happy while shopping, it made her feel normal. And if that would keep that awful vacant expression that Garret had seen in her eyes that morning away then he was willing to go into every clothes store in the US. Besides he was hoping for a new touch screen phone.


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks so much for the comments guys! Keep them coming! Lol! Feel free to post comments, questions, critique, character requests/preferences, etc. I'll try to accommodate to those as much as possible. I have a pretty solid base idea, so I don't mind adding people/ taking them away. Stick around; I hope you'll enjoy reading it as much as I am writing it :)

_One day the woman gave birth to a daughter. Her pregnancy was hard, and her labor almost cost her her life. But she was never happier then the moment the doctor put her baby girl into her arms. The small infant had large sapphire blue eyes, and light brown hair. She named her Elizabeth Imogene Zacharra. The moment that Elizabeth wrapped her small fingers around her mothers thumb she knew, she would never need a flowering garden- Elizabeth was her Spring all year-round._

Jason checked his watch, looking around the Metro Court Hotel bar. People were milling about in their best business attire- after all it was Port Charles' lunch hour. All the rich dined at the Metro Court, everyone else was at Kelly's. Jason would have rather been at Kelly's, but he was here to meet a business partner and close friend.

He was ordering another drink when Sonny entered the room. He was accompanied by his wife- Carly Corinthos. The blonde was also a friend of Jason's; she was also a perpetual matchmaker. She had tried a million times to set Jason up with a plethora of women she knew. The only problem was that every woman that she set him up with were all very, well- boring. They had beauty, money, and sometimes brains but they always lacked that something extra. That spark, or missing piece. When Jason looked at them he didn't feel anything special, he didn't see a future. Jason sighed as the couple approached him. He would bet his bottom dollar that Carly would have a new proposition for him.

"Jason!" Sonny gave him one of those half hug, pat on the shoulder things that show affection and somehow reassert manliness.

Jason smiled back and gestured to their table. Carly barreled him with a hug, grinning from ear to ear. Yup, she was going to try to set him up again.

"Jason!" she squealed, "Where've you been?"

"Around. I did a little bit of traveling, had to set up some connections."

They sat down and ordered drinks. After a while of small talk, they dived into business. Sonny and Jason had met at a property auction in Florida. They had both been looking to buy a valuable piece of coast land; it would've been great for shipping. They quickly became friends over drinks. They understood business; they understood that it wasn't straight and black and white. Sometimes it was crooked and dark. They traded stories. Sonny had gotten into the mob business as a kid, learning the harsh realities and working his way up to the top. Jason had left his father's business to start his own; he learned that sometimes the Feds weren't as honest as he once believed them to be. Corrupt men had taught him better than to trust those in power. To get things done he learned to color around the lines of the law, as long as no innocent person got hurt than he was fine with that. He quickly made money, gaining notoriety and prestige.

"So" Sonny leaned over, "That property we bought, piers 48 to 59, you know that area?"

"Yes" Jason said wondering where this was going. They had signed the papers about a month ago, and everything had just finished processing.

"Apparently, another family has moved in on our territory. The Moretti family."

"What do you mean?" Jason asked. Despite being business partners with Sonny, Jason tried to stay as far from the mob scene as possible.

"They are trying to force themselves in. They are pushing shipments through our territory."

Jason took a sip of his drink, why was Sonny telling him this?

"I thought you were supposed to handle these sort of situations."

"I know" Sonny chuckled. He found it humorous that Jason pretended to turn a blind eye to Sonny's business. He had invited him many times to join him, but Jason always insisted that he preferred to pretend that he knew nothing. "But the Moretti Family is notoriously dangerous; they will target anybody inside and outside the mob to get what they want. Now normally I don't blink at people like Antonio Moretti. However, I've received some information that he is looking to recruit the Zacharra family into his side of the situation." Even Jason had heard of the Zacharras. The famous mob family had committed and gotten away with enough murders to fill a graveyard.

"Now if that happens, we could have a serious problem on our hands." Sonny said, his face solemn.

"I understand" Jason said, sipping again. "I'll have my men get started on creating extra security for me, you want them to take a look at yours?"

Sonny laughed, and Carly chuckled next to him.

"What?" Jason said.

"Well Jase" Carly smiled, "The thing is we've got mob security. The fact is that our mob security guys could run circles around your civilian security."

As the afternoon wound down Jason tried his best to avoid "date talk" with Carly. And he had been surprisingly successful until he was paying the bill and getting ready to leave.

"Oh before you go Jason" Carly chimed, "I have this girl friend that you absolutely have to meet!"

"Not again Carly." Jason shot Sonny a dirty look, he was obviously enjoying this.

"Oh come on Jason, you can't be single forever. And besides, you'd like her if you just met her."

"That's unfortunate, because I refuse to meet her."

"Well…"

"Well what Carly?"

"The thing is, is that I told her you'd have dinner with her on Saturday. And she moved her whole schedule around to make it happen."

"What?"

"Carly" Sonny butted in, "You can't just mess with Jason's life like that" he said it seriously, and Jason would've believed that he meant it- if it weren't for the huge smile plastered across her face.

"Well" Carly said, pouting and putting her hands on her waist. "We're the only friends that Jason has. If we don't get him out, who will?"

"Emily could do it" Sonny countered.

"Puh-lease. Living with the Quartermaines is enough to keep your hands full for a lifetime. Believe me. Besides she's still young and unmarried herself, she doesn't need to have to find herself and her older brother a date."

"I won't go" Jason said determinedly.

"Then you'll be the one getting a call from her. And you can explain why you didn't show." Jason rolled his eyes at her obvious manipulation.

"Who is she anyways?"

"Her name is Courtney, and not only is she gorgeous but she's filthy rich thanks to her dead oil magnate husband."

"Sounds typical."

"So you'll go?"

"If I go then you have to promise never to ever set me up again."

"But Jason-"

"Or I'll forward her call to you."

"Fine"

"Alright then. Goodnight Carly. Sonny, call me." And with that Jason left.

"So" Carly said, turning to Sonny. "What do you think?"

"That you are insane."

"No! I mean about Courtney and Jason."

"Well to be honest, she's not his type."

"Now's the time you want to be honest? I thought I married into the mob!" Carly teased sarcastically. "Well I've got a feeling about Saturday. I'm sure Jason's gonna fall head over heels this weekend. Trust me."

Sonny rolled his eyes and wrapped his arm around his wife's waist as they departed. He doubted that Jason would fall for the blonde gold digger.


	4. Chapter 4

Wow! Thanks for the comments; I shall reward them by posting ASAP! Lol! So, don't worry Courtney is not actually in the story and Carly plays a seriously minor role. Also, I promise no Sam or Rick. I mixed in another character here- and the next chapter is most likely going to be the meeting of Jason and Liz. So here goes…

_The woman spent morning, day, and night with her new daughter. But as time passed the evil man became angry. He wanted to know why the woman had not born him a son. In his anger he sent her away with her daughter. He sent them to a small house in the middle of the forest where they stayed for one full year, far away from the world._

Elizabeth browsed through a rack of dresses, watching as the colors and fabrics slid through her fingers. Johnny and Garret were right outside the store, slumped on a bench. She had promised that this would be the last store, and then they could get something to eat. The forty-something year old man and eighteen year old boy resembled raggedly Ann dolls- all floppy.

Just as she was about to move on to the next rack she spotted a pale blue dress. She picked it up, feeling its frothy fabric slip between her fingers. It had short capped sleeves, and was designed to look like a modern version of a Victorian dress. It was form fitting, but a silhouette of sheer blue fabric made the look ethereal. Elizabeth bit her lip in contemplation. She loved it, but should she buy it? She had no where to wear it to, and a dress that beautiful deserved to be worn out where lots of people would see it.

"You should definitely get it" said a voice next to her. Elizabeth looked up and saw a woman; she looked to be a little bit older than her. She had brown hair and chocolate brown eyes.

"What?"

"You should get it. It'd go great with your skin tone." She said in a friendly tone. Elizabeth looked a little bit confused. People didn't usually talk to her much, at least people who weren't in the mob. They were too intimidated by her guards, who happened to be dozing off outside on the benches.

"You were thinking about buying it right?"

"Well yeah but how'd you-"

"You had the classic 'I'm debating about buying this' shopping girl look. Trust me I know, I get it all the time." Elizabeth smiled.

"Do you work here?"

"Oh no! Please! I wish! Imagine the discounts!" she laughed. "Actually I'm a doctor, or rather I'm going to be a doctor- I'm finishing up my post grad residency."

"Cool. I'm Elizabeth." Elizabeth offered her hand, which the woman gladly accepted.

"I'm Robin." She smiled, then she lifted up a red dress that she had been holding. "What do you think of this?" It was ruby red, short, and silk with a strategically placed bow on the waist and spaghetti straps.

"It's really nice, what's the occasion?"

"Well I think my boyfriend is going to propose to me tonight. I'm not one hundred percent sure but,- okay I'm like ninety nine percent sure." she giggled momentarily, "He's taking me to the Metro Court hotel tonight for a fancy diner, and I wanted to look nice but not too nice, but at the same time, this might be one of the most important nights of my life. SO what do you think?"

"I think that it's perfect" Elizabeth said honestly. The red of the dress seemed to make Robin's face glow, and make her cheeks all rosy.

"I think so too!" Robin replied happily.

At that moment a saleswoman approached the two.

"Can I help you?" she said coldly.

"Yes." Elizabeth answered. "I'll be taking this one. And she'll be taking that one." She pointed to the dress in Robin's hands. "Put them both on my card." She handed the now smiling associate her credit card. The woman walked away, smiling as she thought of her commission.

"I can't let you do that!" Robin said in shock.

"Yes you can, and you will. Consider it an engagement gift." Elizabeth smiled as the associate returned with two separate bags and Liz's card and receipt.

Robin and Elizabeth headed towards the door together.

"It was really nice meeting you Robin" Elizabeth said cheerily. She meant it, Robin was nice and somebody that Elizabeth- a person not quick to warm up to people- instantly liked.

"You too Elizabeth. I hope we can meet again! And thanks so much for the dress!"

"Good luck at dinner" Elizabeth said as they parted ways.

Johnny and Garret were waiting for her, complaining of starvation.

The next morning Elizabeth awoke to the grim faces of her two protectors. Her father had called while she was still asleep. He had told Garret that the Moretti family had asked him to join them in knocking out the Corinthos family in a move for full control of the Port Charles ports. Apparently the area was prime real estate, and one that primarily belonged to Sonny Corinthos. Her father had refused, seeing no reason to partner with the Moretti's. He felt that if and when he decided to engage in all out war with Corinthos, then he would do it himself. However, everyone knew how dirty the Moretti's were, and he felt that he should put Garret on notice that they might possibly come after Elizabeth for leverage.

Garret had asked for extra security. Anthony had refused saying that daughters of the mob were only good for one thing- power marriages. If she had been a boy, a son, he said, then she would've been able to take over for him and it would've been in his best interest to provide further security. But she was a girl and so Garret had to make due, as Anthony spat out before hanging up.

"So are you telling me that I can't go out?" Elizabeth asked annoyed at the whole situation.

"You won't be made to stay in for at least another week. The Moretti's have to find you first, and there's no way that they're going to suspect that you're here in Port Charles when the last traces of you were back in Oregon."

So Elizabeth ate breakfast with Johnny as Garret made some calls. She was used to hiding, she was used to running. It was a part of her life; she didn't know how to escape from it.

Across town, in a small dimly lit room above an empty bar a man was making an important phone call.

"We traced his call boss- she's here."

"She's here in Port Charles?"

"Yeah boss."

"Who's with her?"

"The same two guys. The older one was the one who answered the call."

"Only two?" then aside "not very smart of Anthony at all."

"Well you know what to do."

"Yeah boss, Saturday right?"

"Yes. You'd better not fail me."

"Yes boss."


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks so much for your comments guys! I really appreciate it and look forward to them, honestly. I'll post the next chapter asap because it's what would've went along with this one if I had more time to write. I put some Q&A's at the end, I'll try not to spoil it (the story) too much, I don't want to bore you guys. BTW let me know if you saw this coming, I was hoping for the element of surprise.

_But after the year was over the evil man came to take the woman back home. But things were worse than ever. The evil man forbade the woman from going to the garden, he insisted that she stay put inside the house until she bore him a son. After a year she had still not given him a child, so the man took Elizabeth away from her. He said that if he would not have son, then she would not have her daughter. He kept Elizabeth in the other part of the house. Far enough so that the woman could never see her, but near enough that she could hear her crying for her mother at night._

It was Saturday night and Elizabeth shivered as the cold air crept up her coat sleeves. Whoever said that leather was warm never saw a New York winter. The black leather coat that she had bought at thrift store not too long ago provided no protection against the icy cold.

Her father had told Garret to expect a black car that would pick her up so that she could go see him. This is how it usually went. Her father would send for her, Garret would accompany her and Johnny would tail their car. Elizabeth never asked why Garret insisted that Johnny tail the car of his own employer. Maybe because it made her feel safe, maybe because she really didn't want to know, or maybe because she had a dark suspicion that Garret did it for her protection. She would meet her father sitting in some room in some home of his. He was usually drunk, or angry, or both. He would spend an hour watching her, asking her short questions, and then like that he would pounce. He was always waiting for that one comment, anything really, to provide an excuse for a response. When she was younger she tried to remember every time he would get angry and what set him off. She was looking for a pattern, any sort of indication of what she was doing that made him act that way. Eventually she realized that there was no pattern, but this wasn't until years later- and all the confrontations had taken its toll. When things got too loud or crazy Garret would barge through the door, making up a threat or an excuse to draw Anthony's attention and get Elizabeth out. One time Garret had barged in without excuse and Anthony had threatened him by pointing a gun at his chest.

Now when she went to see him she tried to get angry before going in. She thought that her anger would steel her inside, give her strength. It didn't work. She would walk in and feel like jelly inside. He made her feel scared, and angry, and confused, and sick. He would taunt her, and accuse her of being crazy, a liar, and stupid, just like her mother. One day, after one of these visits Elizabeth went home with Garret and locked the door to her room. She stood in front of the full length mirror in the room and stared at herself. She tried to look at who she was, but it was too painful. All the memories, what she knew to be true but what her father told her was a lie. He had trapped her, like a butterfly in a jar. She was surrounded by fear and memories. And she hated it because it made her despise herself. She was not afraid of looking down the barrel of a gun, but she was afraid of her old man. When Garret had finally gotten through the door, he found her in front of the mirror crying. "I'm sorry dear" he said, his voice cracking "I would take you away if I could. But I promised your ma." He let her cry in his arms.

Elizabeth heard snow crunch under her boots as the boxcars made their way into her line of vision. This time would be different, she promised herself, she wouldn't let him get to her.

"Johnnnnyyyy!" Elizabeth whispered into the dark cold air. The boxcars were lit with the soft glow of moonlight.

"Damn it Liz, I told you to stay there while we scope out the place!" Johnny snarled back from the trees surrounding the general area.

"Yeah well, I was getting worried about you back there." She sniffed.

"What? You were getting scared for me?" Johnny said emerging from the foliage, and standing next to her.

"Yes I was afraid you tripped on your own feet and bumped your head" Elizabeth teased smiling as Johnny rolled his eyes. Despite the closeness in age Johnny and Elizabeth were nothing more then friends. It's not that they though each other ugly, it's just that their was zero attraction. Elizabeth grew up alongside Johnny when his mother, Garrets sister had died and left him to Garret. He was 3 and she was 4. Her mom had just passed away too, so John and Liz became fast friends. They took lessons together and were able to ace the SAT's by the time they were 13 and 14. When John told her that he was planning on entering the mob at 15, Liz begged him not to. But she relented when he told her that he would be working under Garret.

"Where's Garret?" Elizabeth asked suddenly. Her smile quickly fading into worry.

"Eh, the old man's around here somewhere." John said looking around.

"I'm here" Garret emerged from the shadows. He joined the two and looked at his watch.

"They're a little late aren't they?" he said half to himself, half to them.

Suddenly a soft rustle caused both men to lift their weapons, and still themselves.

"John" Garret whispered, turning towards the boxcars "Did you check the boxcars?"

"All of them are locked except the one right in front of you, and the door wouldn't budge on that one." The second the last word left John's lips the door to the box car swung open.

The next thing Elizabeth knew there were gun shots filling the air. She was shoved behind Johnny. But then something happened that she would never forget as long as she lived. It was the sight of Garret hitting the ground. But before she could process anything Johnny yanked her from behind him and started shouting to her.

"Run Elizabeth! Run!" And she ran, as Johnny unloaded his gun into their attacker.

She didn't stop. The air filled her lungs. Cold and sharp, it cut through her chest, daring her to slow down.

At first she didn't feel it. But then like a freight train it hit her. The pain spread, like a fire. At first she tried to fight it, but it wouldn't be fought off. It demanded attention. She stumbled, finally taking in her surroundings. She didn't hear gun shots anymore, just blood rushing through her head. She was at the far end of Port Charles park, she knew it because Garret and John had taken her their after they went shopping. It was located past the last boxcar. They had a small snowball fight in which Johnny won. Elizabeth gasped as the pain seemed to fill her small body. She stumbled forward. Move, she told herself. Her hand went inside her coat, against her side. She withdrew it, and discovered the source of her pain. Her hand was covered in blood. She was shot. She wanted to get to the park, but she couldn't make it. She collapsed in front of a boxcar, and closed her eyes as everything went blurry and then black.

Q&A

Hellz-on-Earth: Nope, Anthony doesn't know that his phone was bugged. You'll find out about Robin in the next chapter for sure. Thanks for reading and for your awesome comments, they def. motivate me to write!

Jynx: Johnny is Garret's nephew, but… Thanks for reading, not to toot my own horn but you should def. stick around b/c John's got a bigger story here then meets the eye ;)

Babeboo: You suspect right, generally speaking, lol! Thanks a bunch for reading!

GH-DR3AM3R: Thank you!

thanks: bjq, Kimmy123, lrobinson01, jaceyb1, Deb, Anon, Kimmy, leeleelayla5, neodeu, as well as everybody else who's reading along!


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks for commenting!

_Because she could no longer see her daughter, the woman became very sad. She could not find in herself the will to live; her only hope was that she might see her daughter again. Then, when her daughter turned three, a kind man who worked for the family and had taken care of the woman while she was in the house in the woods, began to secretly bring Elizabeth to see her mother at night. It was very dangerous; they all knew that if the evil man found out he would kill them. _

Jason walked through Port Charles park. The moon cast an almost ethereal glow on the town park. White snow seemed to cover every surface. His breath made white clouds in the cold air.

He had just come from the Metro Court, where he spent a whole two hours waiting for Carly's friend Courtney. She had never shown up. He had tried to call her but all he got was her voicemail. While he hoped that she was alright and nothing bad had happened, he was sort of pissed off that he had been stood up. She could have texted him if it was an emergency, or called him if she couldn't make it.

Now, that he was strolling through the park he realized that he was probably lucky that she hadn't shown. The women Carly usually set him up with were never his type.

Eventually he had grown tired of waiting and ordered, and after a couple of drinks he left. Seeing the park, he had decided to take a walk. He didn't know why really. It was pretty late to go for a stroll, but it felt almost like he had to do it.

Jason realized that he was at the farthest point of the park. Alice, the Quartermaine's maid, who was really more like family, had taken him there when he was little. She and him used to have picnic's, she would watch him play, and teach him to fly a kite, then when he got tired she would take him home. Jason sat down on a bench, as scenes from his childhood flashed through his mind.

Then he heard a moaning noise. Instantly alert, Jason stilled himself. He heard it again and knew it was coming from behind the foliage, where the boxcars were. It was distinctly female. Jason ran to where the noise was coming from. He pushed back the large bushes and small trees that separated the park from the boxcars.

There in front of the last boxcar was a woman. Jason had never seen someone so beautiful. He pale skin, like the snow, was glowing in the moon light. And her brown hair framed her face, and fanned out in long waves. Her lips were pale, looking almost blue- probably from the cold. And her lashed were long, caressing her cheek. She was small and wearing a leather coat, jeans, and boots. She was shivering violently, although she appeared unconscious. She moaned again as her body tried to curl up. Jason ran over to her and tried to wake her. Her eyebrows knitted together as something incoherent escaped her full lips.

"It's okay I'm going to help you" Jason tried to reassure her, hoping that she could hear him.

Jason picked up her small body and saw her expression change to that of a person in extreme pain. But her eyes were still closed. He looked down to see if she had a purse or something with her. That's when he saw it. The snow where she had been lying was stained red with blood.

"Oh crap" Jason said. He looked down at the small beautiful woman in his arms, and saw that her clothes were covered in blood. It was hard to see much, but Jason guessed that it was all coming from her side.

Jason gripped her tightly, hoping it was not too late. Minutes later he had her strapped into his car, on their way to General Hospital.

The heat was blasting in his car as Jason glanced nervously at his wounded passenger. She seemed to be coming around as words came tumbling out of her mouth. Jason could see that she was semi-conscious, her eyes were closed but she was trying to tell him something, or ask him something.

"Garret?" She whimpered, "Johnny? Help?"

"Hey" Jason said, hoping she heard him. "My name's Jason. I found you at the park, you're shot I'm taking you to the hospital."

Her eyes fluttered briefly as she shook her head weakly. "No, no, no. No hospital. He'll find me. He'll kill me."

Jason looked at the road in concern; he wondered what the hell he had managed to get himself into.

"Look miss, you're shot. You're bleeding, You could die. I have to take you to the hospital." Silence followed this statement. Jason thought that she had passed out when he felt a hand on his muscles arm. He looked over at his passenger.

Her eyes were open now. Jason breath seemed to be knocked out of his lungs. Her eyes were a beautiful sapphire blue. They communicated everything that she was feeling to him. They were pleading, they were panicked, they were demanding his attention, they were warning him. Her head was leaning against the back of the seat; she had little strength, but had mustered what remained in her to tell him this.

"Please don't take me to a hospital. Please."

"Alright I won't take you." Jason agreed, he doubted that he could deny those eyes anything. After she got his reassurance she removed her hand, and her head rolled to the side as her eyes closed.

Jason made a sharp left, turning away from the hospital and towards his pent house. He just hoped that he was doing the right thing.

When he arrived he carried the woman up to his apartment, laying her out on the couch. She had lost consciousness. Jason went upstairs to get blankets, a change of clothes, and a first aid kit, which is probably why he didn't hear the door open.

When he arrived back downstairs he was the least expected for what he saw. While he was upstairs Emily, his younger sister had come for a visit. Tall, thin, with light brown hair and brown eyes Emily was Jason's closest friend and relative. She was in college, studying to become a doctor. She had come to see her older brother, to ask him out for beers. A unconscious, bloody woman on her brothers couch was the last thing that she expected. She was shocked, and immediately went to see if she was alive.

She was leaning over Elizabeth, having just opened her coat, when Jason appeared.

"Jason" Emily said, her voice shaking. "She's been shot." She looked up at her brother wondering what he had to do with the woman who was clinging to life on his couch with a bullet in her side.


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks for all the comments, keep 'em coming!

_One day when the girl was playing in her mother's garden, she heard loud yelling coming from a window. She crept over, careful not to make a sound. She heard her father, the evil man, yelling at the top of his lungs at another man. "I want her dead by tonight!" her father shouted, "and don't screw up again!"_

"Emily calm down" Jason advised as Emily shook violently. "I found her in the park, she was lying in the snow for who knows how long."

"Why didn't you take her to the hospital Jason?" she asked concerned reaching for the first aid kit Jason was holding.

"She told me not to. She said that somebody was going to find her there and kill her. She made me promise."

Emily cut away the girls clothes.

"Why didn't you call the police?"

"Come on Em, I may not work for the mafia but I know that any criminal looking to 'finish the job' is going to set up camp around the police."

Emily grimaced looking at the side wound. "What's her name Jase?" The woman was pretty, young, and petite Emily observed. Her pale skin sort of looked luminescent in the poor lighting of the penthouse.

"I don't know, she sounded like she was worried about two guys named Garret and Johnny."

"Jason, I'm only in med school and this wound is beyond my current knowledge or experience." Emily said seriously, "she needs professional medical care immediately."

"But I promised her I wouldn't take her to the doctor."

"I know, you won't have too." Emily flipped open her phone and dialed a few numbers.

"Hello? Robin? I'm fine but listen I need you to come over to Jason's penthouse now- it's and emergency. Great! And one more thing, I need you to bring your med bag and you absolutely cannot tell anyone about this. Alright, see you in a few. Bye." Emily smiled looking up from her phone. "Well Robin's morbidly curious."

"Do you think she'll be alright?" Jason asked looking down, concern coloring his features.

"Well I might not be comfortable enough to get that bullet out of her, but I do know that she should- with the proper care- be fine. My main concern is that the bullet might of hit something serious, but other then that her issue will be with tearing her stitching and cheating death by avoiding a serious infection- I mean she was out in the park unconscious with an open wound, never mind the mild hypothermia she already has."

Jason nodded; he couldn't tear his eyes away from the unconscious figure lying on his couch. She was so beautiful, but her small frame made her look so fragile. He wondered what she did to get shot, or who she was, and why somebody would want someone as beautiful as her dead.

Fifteen minutes late Robin pounded on the door.

"It's me Robin!" She shouted, behind the heavy wood. Jason flung open the door, eager to get the woman some medical attention.

"Geeze" Robin said, walking in "I thought I would need a secret password to get in Jason."

Robin instantly focused when she saw the girl Emily was leaning over.

"Oh my gosh." She said quietly, "I know her!"

"What?" Jason and Emily asked simultaneously.

"Yeah, I met her at the mall- her name's Elizabeth" Robin rubbed her hands over her forehead and jumped into her doctor mode, speaking to Emily she began to ask questions. She new the young Quartermaine was in med school, and often advised her. They had become best friends when Emily volunteered at the hospital and Robin was beginning her residency.

"Where'd you find her?"

"Jason found her at the park."

"How long was she there?"

"He doesn't know."

"How are her vitals?"

"Surprisingly stable."

"Entry point of the bullet?"

"It appears to be from the side of her body, beside her lungs. Her breathing is stable, so I don't think the bullet punctured the lungs- I wasn't sure though."

"You're right" Robin had already donned gloves and was working on extracting the bullet with her sterilized forceps and retractors. "It's a rather lucky hit, generally a superficial one. She is suffering from mild hypothermia, along with stress and blood loss. It's no wonder she unconscious. Emily grab that small bowl from inside my bag."

Emily pulled it out and Robin dropped the bullet into it.

"I applied anesthesia to the wound, but you'll have to administer oral antibiotics and pain medication- which I'll give you a prescription for in a minute." Robin stitched up the wound, and cleaned up the area, bandaging her up. "Get her into new clothes and wrap her in blankets. You'll want to make sure she eats lots of hot liquids, and carbs. Rehydration is super important." She finally added going into the kitchen to clean up.

Twenty minutes later Elizabeth was wrapped in blankets in Jason's guest bedroom, fast asleep. Robin and Emily were sitting on the couch discussing the turn of events, while Jason went to the pharmacy.

As he drove Jason repeated Elizabeth's name in his heat, wondering about his new guest.

She was so pretty, and her name was perfect for her. He wondered how he got himself into this situation, but for some reason didn't regret it. He wondered if he was in danger, if maybe he was doing something illegal for harboring her in his penthouse. He didn't care, for some reason he didn't believe that Elizabeth was bad news- just that whoever shot her was. He wondered who Garret and Johnny were, and if she was married. He remembered her naked ring finger and smiled. No she wasn't. He wondered if she had a boyfriend. We'll, he reasoned, if she did then he was a lousy one, after all he didn't save her, Jason did. He wondered if he should have called the police or taken her to the hospital. He was glad that he didn't the thought of her in danger made his stomach turn.

Returning to the penthouse, Jason found Emily and Robin waiting for him.

"So what are you going to do?" Emily asked first.

"I guess I'll keep her here until she gets better."

"Then what?"

"Then that's it. Whatever she does after is her decision."

"Have you considered that she might be dangerous?" Robin asked.

"She doesn't seem dangerous" Jason responded easily.

"Hmm. Let me see. She's about twenty, wearing leather. And when me and Emily changed her into warmer clothes we found this stuff on her." Robin handed Jason a small gun, a roll of hundred dollar bills, and an untraceable cell phone. "Never mind the fact that someone thought that she needed to be 'taken out".

Jason laughed at Robin's cheesy mob term, pulled right out of some mob movie.

"I'm serious Jason!" Robin chuckled too, then formed a straight face.

"I know" Jason said. "But my business isn't crystal clear either, so I know a little about being "taken out" and threats. I'll just have my security team up their game."

"Speaking of which" Emily added, "Where is your security team?"

"I gave them the night off" Jason added simply.

"Jason!" Emily shouted.

"You don't have to worry about me" Jason smirked at his younger sisters concern, "I know how to handle a gun."

Emilr rolled her eyes, hoping that the young lady sleeping upstairs wouldn't cost her her brother's life.

Johnny had just ended a call with his friend who had been watching Garret at the hospital. Garret was in surgery to have the bullet that was lodged in his brain taken out. He was in critical condition.

After the attack Johnny had immediately gone looking for Elizabeth. Not finding her, he assumed that she had been either kidnapped or had gotten away. Then he had called one of his closest friends- Ethan Lovett- to take Garret to the hospital and to help him dispose of the body of their attacker. Leaving Ethan with Garret, Johnny disposed of the bodies and began to look for Elizabeth.

He had followed her tracks to the last boxcar at the far end of Port Charles park. He only found blood. He made repeated attempts to call her cell phone, but nobody answered. Finally, he decided to wait. If she had been kidnapped, he would get a call soon. If she was killed then he was sure he would've found out by now. He drove back to the hospital where Ethan was flipping through a magazine in the waiting room.

"How is he?" John asked sitting down in a heap.

"He just came out of surgery. They're getting him settled and all that. Did you find her?"

"No."

"Then she's probably alive out there, eh?"

"I guess. I'm pretty sure she was shot, I found blood."

"If she goes to the police or the hospital, my boys will be the first to know."

"Yeah, and so will whoever hired that guy to kill her. Besides, she's too smart to go to the hospital or police."

"Not the first time this has happened, I'm guessing?"

"Nope. She's been shot at since her father started moving her around."

"When did that start?"

"After he killed her mother. He had her strangled. She heard him order it, went to visit her mom, and saw the guy who did it crawl out the window."

"Helluva childhood."

"Yeah, well she tries to be strong. But when it comes to her old man, she doesn't fool anybody. Especially him."

Just then a doctor came over. He was tall, with black hair and blue eyes.

"Hi my name's doctor Drake. I operated on your father Garret O'Connell?"

"Yes." Johnny had told the hospital that Garret was his father so that they'd allow him full access.

"Well, your father pulled out fine. He should be expected to make a full recovery. However it was a long and complicated procedure, and sometimes these things are uncertain so we're keeping him on for observation. At this moment he's very weak, and unconscious, however would you like to go see him?"

Johnny nodded, leaving Ethan behind. As he entered the room he looked around at the various beeping machines, then at Garret who was asleep. It was hard for John to see him this way. Garret had always been like a father to him, and he always looked up to his uncle, following his advice in every and anything. Johnny wondered if he should say anything.

"So hey Uncle Garret. I was just thinking, you know that new tablet you wanted? Well I think I'm gonna get it for you for Christmas. How does that sound?" He stared at his unconscious uncle. Johnny felt suddenly alone. His mother was gone, he never knew about his father, and now his beloved uncle was laying there attached to machines. Never mind the fact that his best friend and the person he was supposed to protect was missing and maybe even dead.

"Garret" Johnny said, sitting on a chair next to the man's bed, he leaned in grabbing Garrets hand. "I need you now more than ever. I don't know what to do. Elizabeth's gone, I don't know where she is or if she's okay. You're lying in a hospital bed. And then person who did this is out there. And Anthony Zacharra is out there, and he's going to want an answer for his daughter's disappearance." Suddenly a thought occurred to Johnny. What if Anthony was the one who put out the hit? It would be perfect. After all Anthony's people were the ones who didn't show up on time. He would've known that Elizabeth, Garret, and him would be waiting.

Suddenly Johnny felt a squeeze in his hand. He looked up as Garrets eyes focused on him.

"Johnny" he whispered, "Johnny, my son. I love you." Then he flatlined.

A flurry of nurses and doctors immediately entered the room, shoving Johnny out and working to resuscitate Garret. A few minutes later and Dr. Drake appeared.

"The good news is that we restarted your father's heart, and he's alright. The bad news is that he seems to have slipped into a coma. While this is normal with patients with this amount of trauma, I want to warn you that in some cases patients do not come out of the coma, and that you should be aware."

Johnny's head was spinning. He heard everything that was being said to him but he wasn't listening. _His son?_ He wondered. _Am I his son?_


	8. Chapter 8

_The evil man hated his wife so badly that he had her poisoned. Almost like the sleeping beauty story mommy told you, except she never woke up, she went to heaven. Afterwards the evil man had Elizabeth locked inside the house, and he destroyed the garden. He forbade Elizabeth from ever going outside until she was ten years old. And when she was ten, he sent her away. Every month the girl would move someplace new, she moved from house to house, city to city, state to state._

The man that her father had talked to was serving the food. He was mixing something in the drink, frowning, and adding more. It was her mother's breakfast tray, her mom was never allowed out of her rooms.

"No mommy! No!" Elizabeth had shouted, running down the hall. But somebody snatched her up and put a hand over her mouth.

"Shhh" It was Garret. She began to cry, hysterical. Garret had secretly been bringing her here, to this part of the house for as long as she could remember. He brought her to visit her mommy. But now it was day time, and it was dangerous- her father was around. They had told her that if her daddy saw them in this side of the house, she would never see her mommy again.

"What is it Elizabeth?" Garret asked, concern coloring his hushed tone.

"He's going to kill her you have to stop her Garret!" she screamed, but this time her voice was not the voice of a four year old. It was the voice of a nineteen year old. She shot up in bed, screaming just as the door swung open. It was a dream, this was reality. The second she saw that the face of the intruder was not Garret, everything came flooding back. The ambush. The gunshots. Garret. Johnny. The snow. The park. The boxcars. The pain. Jason?

"Hey- you're just having a nightmare. It's okay." The handsome blonde cautiously approached her bed.

"You should lay back down- you're not yet healed." He smiled and tried to gently guide her back against the pillows. By now searing pain was ricocheting across her torso, and she didn't resist.

"You didn't take me to the hospital?" She grimaced, staring into his ice blue eyes. She remembered fighting through the clouds of pain to rest a hand on her rescuers arm. "Why?"

"Because you asked me not to." He said, smirking, he was now sitting next to her fumbling through the bed stand for the pain meds Robin gave him. He passed one to her with a bottle of water. She looked up at him questioningly. "Don't worry it's pain meds, a friend of mine who is a doctor prescribed- she came by to see you."

"Thank you." She smiled, and then downed the pill. "Where am I? What happened?"

"Well, I found you shot in the snow near the boxcars. I was driving you to the hospital when you asked me not to. I got the feeling that you thought that you would be in danger by going to the hospital- so I took you here. We're in my penthouse, my sister who's a med student, and her friend who is finishing her residency took the bullet out and stitched you up." He watched as she swallowed this information.

"Well," she smiled up at him "I guess I'm a pretty lucky that you found me."

"Um- the friend of mine who saw you mentioned that you had met before."

"Really? What's her name?" She looked doubtful- how could she possibly know somebody from around here?

"Robin Scorpio."

"REALLY? Wow! I met her at the mall. That's so weird. Did she get proposed to after all?" She smiled, remembering the petite brunette who had been so kind to her.

"Yeah, Patrick Drake and she are engaged"

"Oh I don't know who the guy is but she seemed really excited about getting engaged when I met her."

They were both quiet for a moment. Elizabeth's mind was wandering- she wondered what happened to Johnny and Garret. She wondered what she was going to do, where she was going to go, what her options were. She needed to go; she had to find Garret and Johnny. She had to know at least that they were okay.

"Listen" Jason broke her reverie, "I don't know what kind of trouble you're in or why you were shot Elizabeth, but I can help. I mean I know people who can help. If you need money or protection or if you need to call the police, or talk to someone- I can do that for you." Elizabeth realized as she looked searchingly into Jason's eyes that they had not even asked each others names and here he was, some guy who saved her from the snow, offering to help her.

"Listen Jason," she said imploringly "I really appreciate your help and you saving me and all but you can't do anything else. It's too dangerous. In fact" – she began to push the blankets aside and sit up. "I shouldn't even be here. It's too dangerous for you."

Jason pushed her back onto the bed firmly, but carefully.

"You're not going anywhere Elizabeth." He said firmly, smiling.

"You don't understand Jason. Me being here is putting you in danger."

"And you don't understand Elizabeth. I'm no stranger to danger and you are not going anywhere."

The pain was searing her side now, and she struggled to breathe. When her lungs moved up and down the pain hummed against her side.

"Fine. I can't go anywhere anyways. But I need you to do me a favor." She eased back down and Jason helped her back under the blankets.

"Anything." Jason responded, his blue eyes looking into her sapphire ones.

Thanks for the comments; I'll try to make as much sense as possible :)


	9. Chapter 9

Thanks for reading! Comment please- if you can!

_Elizabeth didn't have any friends except for the man who took care of her and his nephew who was her age. The man's name was Garret, and his nephew's name was Johnny. Garret and Johnny loved Elizabeth like she was family- and Elizabeth loved them back. They were the only body guards that Elizabeth's evil father gave to protect her. Garret was the same man that had taken care of Elizabeth and her mommy when they were sent away, and he was the man who secretly took Elizabeth to see her mom when Elizabeth's father forbade it._

Jason paced the hospital floor waiting for Robin. He wondered what was taking her so long- a question that he did not hesitate voicing when she appeared from one of the hallways beaming as her fiancé Patrick Drake nodded animatedly to whatever she was saying.

"Where were you? I've been waiting forever?"

"Calm down Jason", Dr. Drake rolled his eyes. "She only got your call like five minutes ago."

"Jason, you wouldn't believe! We had a patient with severe cranial bleeding. I mean he went into surgery before, but nobody could have been able to see that he had a leaking artery- but along came the amazing doctor Drake, and he saved his life" she smiled at her fiancé.

"It was nothing. After the heart attack, I knew that we had missed something in the original surgery- all the patterns were there. I just did what any brain surgeon would do. We just took him back into surgery, repaired the artery and drained the excess fluids."

"That's great Robin, but I really need a favor." Jason tried to draw the doctors attention.

"Yeah, what is it Jase? Is Liz okay?"

"Who's Liz?" Patrick asked.

"Yeah, I think so. I mean I gave her the pain meds- she didn't want to stay, but I told her that she had no choice. Plus she can't move much. But she wanted me to find out if anybody had recently been admitted named Garret or Johnny. One would be about 18-ish, and the other would be a middle aged guy."

"We just operated on a guy named Garret; his son's name is Johnny. He was the guy who sustained damage from a gunshot wound- that was the patient we were just discussing." Patrick said, before Robin could stop him.

"Patrick!" she said, feigning shock. "So much for patient confidentiality."

"So who is this chick? Is she like family to Garret or something?" Patrick asked. He always liked Jason, and was curious about his friendship with the many citizens of Port Charles. For someone whose business blurred the lines of legality, Jason had obvious sway around town- even with Robin, the love of his [Patrick's] life. Working in the hospital, Patrick got to see the relationships of the small upstate New York town play out- and to him it seemed to be ripped from the script of a soap opera. Not that he was complaining, it was never a boring day at work in General Hospital.

"Something like that I guess. Robin would probably do a better job explaining the whole situation better then I. Listen I've got to go. So Garret- this guy, he's alright?"

"Yup, he's recuperating right now." Robin said, giving Patrick a look promising to let him in on everything.

"And Johnny? Is he alright?"

"Yeah, he's fine. He's been in and out with a friend of his. We had to file an accident report because of the gunshot wound. Johnny claims him and his father were walking to the park and heard a gunshot. He's saying it was a random freak accident- that Garret was hit with a stray bullet. So far there's been no police investigation. But Mac told me they're not investigating because there was a drunken cop who let off a couple rounds that night near the opening of the park- you know in the front. Apparently he was some big shot, and Mac's been ordered by his superiors to leave it alone."

"Thanks Robin. Patrick. I have to go check on Elizabeth now, and do me a favor and don't let anyone know about this conversation or Liz?"

"Sure Jase," Robin agreed. "But you're going to have to let these people know eventually."

"I know, see you." Jason left on the elevator.

"So, Scorpio. You've been holding out on me." Patrick playfully accused the petite doctor.

"I thought it was for your own good" Robin retorted, "You're becoming like a gossip hungry old lady."

"No fair. So who is Liz, and why is Morgan personally bending over backwards to help her? And more importantly why are you?"

Jason opened the door to Elizabeth's bedroom, where she was waiting for him patiently. He told her everything that Robin had told him, after which she thanked him profusely for helping her out.

"I don't mind helping you; I just need to know what this is about. I can't help you if I don't know what to do."

"Well," Elizabeth shifted her eyes. "I don't think I can tell you."

"You can trust me Elizabeth. Look, I still haven't told the police, or taken you to the hospital."

"Oh, I know I can trust you." Elizabeth paused as an electric moment seemed to pass between them. They both somehow knew that they could trust each other. "I just don't think that you are going to like what you hear."

"Try me" Jason encouraged.

"My family, well, my father is the head of this business. His business isn't really legal, or safe. Those two people- Garret and Johnny are the closest things to family that I've got. They're both my body guards. And I'm sure I was shot that night because I am my father's daughter. And Garret was shot for that reason too. The thing is Jason; I don't really know what to think." She paused, "A part of me thinks that the person behind the shooting was my own father."

Jason silently processed this news as Elizabeth studied his face.

"Well, I've heard worse."

"Really?" she asked disbelieving.

"No" he smiled, "but I thought that might make you feel better."

Elizabeth let out a laugh, and Jason smiled at the sound of it. The second he heard it, it reminded him of spring and the fourth of July all at the same time. It was magical, like fireworks at night.

"Pretty crazy, huh?" she asked smiling.

"Yeah, but life kind of is. Um, this might sound even crazier but I think I can help you."

"You already have." Jason smiled as she said this, it made him feel like he was lit up inside. He desperately wanted to make her laugh again, to make her smile at him like she was now.

"Well, I think I can help you some more."

"Who are you?" Elizabeth shook her chocolate curls and smiled, again in disbelief. "I mean you save me from the snow. Then you keep me secret and get me medical attention, and then you help me find my friends. And meanwhile you've let me in your home- and you've been so amazing. You know, we don't even know each others last names!"

"Morgan."

"What?"

"My name is Jason Morgan" he smiled. "I'm a business man. Single. I turned 25 last month."

"Jason Morgan. Hmmm." She ran his name through her mind, savoring it. Jason couldn't help but love the way she said his name. "My name is Elizabeth Zacharra" she watched as recognition flitted through his eyes. "I'm the daughter of Anthony Zacharra. Single. I turned 20 two months ago."

"Elizabeth" Jason said, watching as her sapphire eyes glinted in the light. Elizabeth heart hammered in her chest; she wanted so desperately to know what he was thinking. She wanted so desperately for him to say her name again, because for some reason she couldn't explain, when he said it it felt like it was meant to be said by him. As if her name was meant to come out of Jason Morgan's lips.

"You do know who the Zacharra's are, don't you?" she asked, as they both stared at each other.

"Oh I've read a news article or two." He said smirking.

"You know, Jason, you don't have to let me stay. You've done enough for me already. I've already imposed on you, I can go now if you want me to?" she did want Jason to feel like he was being forced to keep a mafia princess in his home.

"I already told you- you're not going anywhere, and I'm not a stranger to danger."

"You're being too nice" Elizabeth pouted, crossing her arms and drawing Jason's eyes to her chest, "how do I know that you're not with the bad guys?"

"Because" Jason laughed, "then you wouldn't still be alive, right?"

"I guess Morgan. So how do you think you can help me?"

"Well, it just so happens that I'm close friends and business partners with Sonny Corinthos." Elizabeth's eyes widened.

"Wow you're not kidding- you are no stranger with danger. Sonny's got the only organization that tops my fathers."

"And he's a pretty nice guy," Jason added. "I think we can get him to help you out. Until Garret's okay, Sonny can protect you. And we can find out who put a hit on you."

"What about John?"

"We can tell him, but it's up to him what he wants to do. He works for your dad, right?" Elizabeth nodded.

"So he has to answer to him, he might not want to get involved- or he might want to. I don't know. It all depends on who put out the hit, and where John's allegiances lay."

"Jason. Johnny is Garrets nephew- not his son. I'm sure he said that to get access in the hospital but in every way that counts Garret has been like a father to both of us. That means that John is like a brother to me." Jason was relieved at this bit of information, for reasons that were both obvious and one's that he refused to acknowledge existed as of yet. "John's allegiance is with his family- with me."

"Alright, I'll get in contact with him tomorrow. I'll call Sonny and we can figure out what to do tomorrow too. But you should rest now."

"Thank you Jason," Elizabeth said after taking her pill and snuggling down.

"Good night Elizabeth" Jason said, taking one last glance at the brunette beauty in his guest bedroom before shutting the door. "Sweet dreams."


	10. Chapter 10

Thanks for reading! Please comment!

_So Elizabeth grew up, moving from house to house, place to place. Then one day Garret and Johnny took her to a small town called Port Charles. There was another man in the same business that Elizabeth's father was in in Port Charles. But unlike Elizabeth's father, he was kind and good, and his name was Sonny. One day a bad man thought that he could hurt Elizabeth's father by killing Elizabeth. She was nineteen now, beautiful, and smart- and the bad man thought that he would be taking something very precious from Elizabeth's father if he killed her. He hoped that by doing this, he would force her father to get in a fight with Sonny._

_When the man tried to kill Elizabeth, Garret and Johnny protected her. They told Elizabeth to run, and she ran as fast as she could. It was a dark winter night and they were near the Port Charles Park, and it was very very cold. Garret was hurt protecting Elizabeth's life, but Elizabeth did not escape unharmed- she was bleeding from a wound in her side. And because it was so cold and she was hurt, Elizabeth passed out- lying cold in the snow._

"Hey Jason!" Sonny said cheerfully as his friend entered the penthouse.

"How's everything?"

"It's good. Uh, listen Sonny I'm going to need a favor from you."

"Yeah? Sure you name it."

"You ever heard of the Zacharra family?"

Sonny raised his eyebrows, wondering what Jason had to do with the notorious mob family.

"Of course- as a matter of fact they just contacted all the families. It seems Zacharras daughter has gone missing. Anthony-her father- thinks that she's been either killed or kidnapped. Anyone involved, he said, will receive swift retribution."

"Well, it has to do with the daughter- her name's Elizabeth."

"Yeah, nice girl so I hear- what about her? You know where she is or something?"

"Well I found her shot in the park Sonny. She was bleeding pretty bad, asked not to be taken to the hospital. So I took her to my place and had her stitched up."

"That's smart, she probably thought she would be in danger. And if she was shot then that means that she is. You want me to call Anthony to go and get her?"

"No! Actually it's just the opposite. Anthony can not find out where she is."

"What do you mean Jason?" Sonny asked confused, "What aren't you telling me?"

"Elizabeth thinks that her father put out the hit on her. Her guards were waiting for her dad's pick up. They didn't show, instead she was ambushed. One of her guards almost died."

"Wow. How many did she have with her?"

"There was only two."

"Two?" Sonny asked angrily, "What kind of father puts only two guards on his daughter in this business?"

"Well, she suspects that it was her father. She hasn't really told me too much, I think she's trying not to scare me away or something. Anyways I was hoping you would help us out you know? Like put some guards on her or something? I'm going to have some people look into this so-"

"Sure Jason whatever you need" Sonny said running his hands through his hair, "poor girl, I know what it's like to have a crappy dad. I mean mine never put a hit on me, but it's still a bad situation. Listen Jase, I already opened up my territory temporarily for Anthony to check out since his daughter was taken around here. If I close it up now, it'll look suspicious."

"Yeah I understand- we'll stay out of Zacharras way."

"I'm going to look into this too. If it wasn't Zacharra, then somebody is trying to have Elizabeth kidnapped or killed in my territory- which wouldn't look good for me. It seems" Sonny scratched his chin, "like things are about to get a whole lot stickier."

"Yeah," Jason sighed. "Well, I've got to go- I'll bring you any info that I find."

"And I thought you wanted to stay as far away from the mob as possible Jason" both men laughed. Jason opened the door.

"Listen Jase, maybe I'll come over and talk to her. She might give me a little more information- we're in the same business. Do you mind?"

"Not at all. I'll have my men let you in whenever you decide to come around. See you."

"Bye"

Sonny contemplated the change of events as he poured himself a drink. He wondered what was it about Elizabeth that had made Jason- a man who adamantly refused to get involved with mob affairs- dive headfirst in?

Ethan drifted in and out of sleep as the magazine he had been reading slipped from his hands. He was about to open his eyes when he heard a light feminine voice say.

"Look, see Robin, he's dead asleep."

"Alright, alright, but we have to make it quick. Is Elizabeth okay?"

_Elizabeth? Elizabeth? _Ethan had spent the better part of the week searching for John's friend with that name. He could find nothing. No leads. Nada.

"Jase said she's doing fine but she'll need another prescription for the pills soon. Also he wants you to personally check her out. He still doesn't trust me- even though I'm the one who changes the wound."

_Wound? Was she shot? It wasn't out of the realm of possibility._

"Well, it is a gun-shot wound Em. I'm sure he trusts you; he just wants to be extra safe. What's she like? I only met her in the mall once, and she was pretty nice. I told you she paid for my engagement dress."

"Yeah- she's really cool. And very funny. It's sort of weird, she knows all these ways of passing the time, and her eyes are sort of like soulful. Jason seems to like her a lot!"

"Wow!" the voice belonging to the one called Robin squealed. "Who would have thought Jason Morgan coming to the rescue- of all people in the world- Elizabeth Zacharra!"

"I know! They're so cute together- Jase said he's going to contact Johnny today."

"Really?- Oh no! I'm being paged, I have to go Emily. Tell Jason that I'll be there tonight. See you!"

"Bye Robin!"

Ethan waited until he heard two sets of footsteps leave. Johnny had been a useless mess since Garret had told him that he was his father. When Garret had come out of a coma, he told John the whole story.

Apparently, when Elizabeth and her mom were sent away by Anthony, Garret was sent to be their guard. Garret and Elizabeth's mom had fallen in love, and had a child within that time. They knew they all would be killed if Anthony found out. So Garret and Elizabeth's mom sent Johnny to live with Garret's sister. But Camilla- the woman John believed to have been his mother- died in a car crash. That's when John moved in with "Uncle Garret and Liz".

This revelation left Johnny stuck to Garret's bedside of course. He wanted to find Elizabeth, but Ethan insisted he stay with his father- he was to emotional to make any rational decisions.

Ethan felt a kick at his shoe and looked up. John was towering over him with an offering of coffee.

"So Lovett. Anything new?"

"Actually yes. And you better thank your lucky stars, I stumbled on this one."

"Out with it man, I'm struggling to maintain coherency at this point."

"Well try this one on for size- I know where Elizabeth is."

"You better not be joking with me- where?"

"She's rooming with a Jason Morgan. A man who I have on good account, has a few backroom deals with Sonny Corinthos."

"Corinthos?" Johnny moaned, then to himself "Damn Elizabeth, you sure know how to pick him."

"And, you should aware. She was shot during your little night of fun."

"She was shot?"

"No worries mate. She's fine- a friendly little bird told me."

"This had better not be a joke Ethan."

"Calm down. She's safe, been checked out by a doctor- the whole nine yards. All she needs is little brother Johnny to come sweep her up."

Johnny breathed a sigh of relief as the words "little brother" played across his mind. Elizabeth was his little sister. He had been protecting his little sister all along, and had not even known it. All this time he had been with his father and sister.

"How'd you find out?"

"My sources. The grapevine. Trust me John- it's all solid fact. I just heard our dear Doctor Scorpio and her friend Emily- who happens to be Emily Quartermaine, heiress to the ELQ fortune, and one of Port Charles finest, figuratively of course- talk about it- did I mention Emily was Jason's sister?"

"I though Jason was a Morgan?"

"Well now he is. Look. Long story short- he was in an accident, he lost his memory, went from being golden child of the Quartermaines to running a gigantic empire of his own. In the end it all means that I've found your sister- so go get her!"


End file.
